The braking force is closely related to the acceleration force. It absorbs the surplus energy generated by the acceleration force and converts it into heat. In theory, the braking force can be zero if your vehicle accelerates to 50 km/h and then decelerates without having to brake to come to a full stop. 

The main factors influencing the braking force are:

Mechanical braking is engaged through the brake pedal, allowing your vehicle to slow down. It creates a loss of pure energy that is not used to move the vehicle forward, but rather, disperses as heat in the air. The abrupt and repeated use of mechanical braking indicates an overly high acceleration rate, a lack of anticipation or an inadequate distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. 

Engine braking or compression means shifting to a lower gear to slow down the vehicle. Like mechanical braking, it creates a loss of accumulated energy that is not used to move the vehicle forward. There are engine braking systems on most manual transmission vehicles and, to varying extents, on automatic transmission vehicles.

The main thing you can do to better control your braking force and, thus, your fuel consumption is to:

1

Reduce the need to brake

Since you waste energy every time you engage the mechanical or engine breaking system, the best thing you can do is  reduce predictable braking. How? The same way you would reduce the acceleration force. Decelerating slowly over a large distance is preferable to using your brakes.